Chapter 2

The night pressed in so that the lamps had been turned on in the apartment upstairs. The store was closed and there was a dance being held that evening in the community hall, so the girls were getting themselves in order—brushing and curling hair, adding ribbons, and choosing the right evening dresses and shoes. Lizzie thought that it was one of the loveliest things about growing up in a family of mostly girls, that you could look around this large room and imagine they were all part of a Life magazine photo, like starlets from Hollywood.

There was a sharp knock at the door and in came Mama. She was dressed in one of her prettiest evening frocks. It was periwinkle and she wore a matching hat to further cement herself as a leader in the community. Lizzie watched her as her eyes moved from girl to girl, assessing their dress and demeanour. The giggling and general mayhem slowed when she entered the room, with the girls knowing that their mother was not one to mince words. She stepped further into the room on her sharp shoes. They were from Toronto, Lizzie knew. One of the newest and most expensive styles. Father had ordered her a pair, included in the last shipment of men’s black Oxfords from down south, as a gift for his wife.

Maisie rushed into the new silence first, filling it with words. “Mama, do you mind if I just stay here tonight? My throat is sore and I can’t stop coughing.” Lizzie watched her as she gestured with a book, open to where she was reading it.

“Yes, that’s fine. Jack won’t be going tonight, anyway, so you two can stay here together. You can rinse and clean the raspberries for the pie tomorrow night.” Mrs. Donoghue said. She turned her attention to the other girls.

“Now. Let’s see you girls. Ann, let’s have a look. What a lovely green on you, my girl. The cut suits you. And now, Lizzie.” She sighed. Lizzie looked down at what she was wearing and wondered what was wrong with it. “Oh, Lizzie. Surely you could try to find something a bit more flattering? It looks like an outfit you would wear to tend the shop downstairs. Really. You’ll be the death of me.” The words came in a rush, like a sudden summer rain storm, the kind where a person might find herself caught in a downpour if she wasn’t properly prepared with an umbrella. With Mama, Lizzie knew you had to be at your best or else her words would pierce.

Lizzie stood her ground. “I’m quite presentable. I’m not trying to impress anyone. I don’t see a problem, to be honest.” “To be honest? Lizzie, Lord knows you are nothing if you aren’t honest. Perhaps we ought to try and cultivate a bit more dishonesty in you, hmmm? To be honest, my girl, I think you need to learn some manners. Now, you need to behave in a certain way. Your father is a leader in the Knights of Columbus, for goodness sake.” Lizzie knew that this would be the response, even before she’d begun to speak up for herself. “I know, Mama. I know exactly what is expected of us. I just don’t like it.”

“You represent your father, and this family, whenever you walk through the streets of this town. I’ll have you remember that, Elizabeth.” Impatience resonated in her voice, warning Lizzie. “Now. Reach into that wardrobe and pull out the navy blue dress— the one with the draping across the waist. It will suit you just fine. You can add the pearls that your father gave you for Christmas.” She was curt and dismissive.

As she walked towards the door of the girls’ room, Mrs. Donoghue turned one last time. “I’ll see you downstairs in five minutes. Be sure your hair looks presentable, Ann. Tuck that stray curl in somewhere, will you? Maisie, you help her.”

***The Donoghue Girl*** by Kim Fahner, published by Latitude 46.

About The Donoghue Girl:

Longing for a life bigger than the one she inhabits, Lizzie Donoghue thinks she’s found a simple escape route in Michael Power, but soon discovers that she might have been mistaken…

The Donoghue Girl is the story of Lizzie Donoghue, the spirited daughter of Irish immigrants who desperately wants to not only escape Creighton—the Northern Ontario mining town where her family runs a general store—but also the oppressive confines of twentieth-century patriarchy. She believes her escape can be found in Michael Power, the handsome young mine manager recently arrived in Creighton from the Ottawa Valley.

Caught up in a complex familial love triangle, Michael first courts Lizzie’s older sister, Ann, but then finds himself more and more drawn to Lizzie. Their lives twist and turn as they are all forced to face the harsh reality of the broken expectations of marriage and family just before the onset of WWII in Europe.

This is Lizzie’s story, from beginning to end, and readers will fall in love with her bright spirit as she comes to realize her true strength.

About Kim Fahner:

Kim Fahner lives and writes in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. She has published two chapbooks, You Must Imagine the Cold Here (Scrivener, 1997) and Fault Lines and Shatter Cones (Emergency Flash Mob Press, 2023), as well as five full books of poetry, including: braille on water (Penumbra Press, 2001), The Narcoleptic Madonna (Penumbra Press, 2012), Some Other Sky (Black Moss Press, 2017), These Wings (Pedlar Press, 2019), and Emptying the Ocean (Frontenac House, 2022). Kim is the First Vice-Chair of The Writers' Union of Canada (2023-25), a full member of the League of Canadian Poets, and a supporting member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. She was Poet Laureate for the City of Greater Sudbury from 2016-18.